Marvel Phalanx
by DareJay
Summary: A classic tale of beginner trainers off on an adventure.
1. An Unsure Start!

There comes a time in every kid's life when he or she is old enough to receive a beginning Pokémon. Upon reaching the age of ten, a child was considered old enough to own and care for a pocket monster. It was that special day, June 14, in the small, sleepy town of Kupo in the Pomo region. The entire town was gathered outside the local Pokémon center in celebration of the seven children of age receiving their first Pokémon.

A large crowd, made up of most of the population of Kupo, rooted for the new trainers. The seven impatient ten year olds stood in front a long, wooden table just outside the center. The table was decorated with a purple, velvet tablecloth spotted with red dots. Neatly arranged along the length of the table were Pokéballs.

Suddenly, Professor Sakura, the esteemed Pokémon researcher, emerged from the Pokémon center's entrance, and the awaiting crowd grew silent. She walked with poise, carrying a giant spinner that was divided in the seven colors of the rainbow. It was Kupo Town tradition: each beginner trainer chose a color, and the order of the colors the pointer of the spinner landed on determined the sequence the trainers selected a Pokémon.

After the colors were assigned, Professor Sakura held the spinner high in the air for everyone to see and spun the pointer. The first color was orange. A girl from the group of new trainers screamed in excitement; she got to choose first. The lucky girl took a moment to make her decision. The Pokéballs were next to plates labeled Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, Chikorita, Cyndaquil, and Totodile. The girl finally chose the ball containing Chikorita, and the crowd went in a frenzy of shouts and cheers from pride family members and friends.

The next colors were purple, yellow, and then indigo. The following color to be selected was green.

"Yes!" shouted Damien, the boy assigned green

"You're so lucky," commented Allen the boy who was standing next to Damien.

"Yeah, huh," Damien replied, "nobody chose the Pokémon I wanted yet." Damien made a beeline straight for the Totodile.

Allen let out a sigh of disappointment when the next color selected was red. This was when the major error was noticed. There were seven trainers yet six Pokéballs. The boy assigned red snatched the last Pokéball without a second thought of the dilemma. The surrounding crowd started to murmur among themselves, wondering if Professor Sakura was aware of her critical mistake.

"Don't tell me that was the last Pokémon." Allen said out loud to no one in particular. This was a nightmare come true. This was supposed to be the day he started his Pokémon trainer adventure. He would have happily accepted any of those Pokémon today. What happen?

An Unsure Start!

"Wow," Damien said after noticing the screw up and Allen's heartbrokenness, "some one needs to learn how to count." The snide remark failed to cheer up Allen the slightest. In fact, Allen looked wrecked. Damien could not help but pity him. "Don't worry, man." Damien attempted to cheer his friend up, "I'm sure Professor Sakura can get you a Pokémon soon. You'll only be a few days behind us." Allen remained silent in devastation.

The crowd's mumbling grew even louder. Did Professor Sakura do this on purpose? The whole time the professor stood perfectly erect and calm, as if ignoring the problem and suspecting everyone to simply leave since the last Pokéball was claimed. Then she suddenly beckoned one of her assistances over with a hand gesture. Whispers were exchanged, and the assistance rushed into the Pokémon center.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the professor spoke loudly and slowly, "There has been an inexcusable error by fault of my assistant. This cannot go without rectification." Her speech was very slow yet respectable. The previous assistant returned with a Pokéball in hand and handed it over to Sakura. "To compensate this, I offer you, Allen, this rare Pokémon just recently arrived."

After hearing this, the crowd returned to cheering as Sakura prompted Allen to approach and accepted the Pokéball. At first, Allen was temporary stunned by the sudden direct address from the professor. A helping shove from Damien gave him the momentum to approach and receive the Pokéball.

"Let this conclude the Pokémon receiving ceremonial!"

The after party commenced. There were drinks, teary pride parents, and Pokémon galore. Unfortunately for Allen, both his parents were absent. His mother and father were both members of the Elite Marvel Phalanx, a high ranking group of Pokémon trainers. It was odd. The both of them having to leave so suddenly on some important issue and missing his special day… whatever. He knew they _wanted_ to be here. Being raised by two elite trainers had a large influence on Allen to say the least. As far back as he could remember he had always wanted to be a Pokémon trainer.

"Yo," Damien cried out to the meditating Allen, "You okay, man?"

"Yeah," Allen answered slowly, "just thinking."

"Sorry, that your folks couldn't see the special treatment you got." Damien added. "You were lucky. Most times—if a provider runs out of beginner Pokémon—the odd kid out got nothing."

"I know," Allen said.

"Well…stop being _sooooo_ moody then!" Damien suddenly blurted out, "What happened to the Pokémon manic Allen I knew! C'mon! We finally have Pokémon!"

"Yeah, yeah, we're right." Allen said as you raised his Pokéball in the air in pride. "We finally have…" Allen let his hand down in realization. "I don't know what the heck is in this ball."

"Well, I haven't released my Totodile just yet. Let's meet them together."

Allen nodded in agreement. The excitement was overwhelming. What could the mystery Pokémon be?

"Go Totodile!" Damien commanded as he tossed his Pokéball. The ball opened and released its red beam of energy. The beam quickly formed into the big jaw Pokémon. It hopped up and down uncontrollably.

"Hyper little thing isn't it?" Damien commented. Totodile continued hopping insanely. "Hi, I'm Damien, your trainer." The Pokémon busted into a crazed dance. "I know, I know. I'm excited too." Suddenly Totodile lunged for Damien's left feet. It attached its powerful jaws on Damien expensive shoe's toe.

Big no-no. Nobody messed with Damien shoes. "Okay, no gnawing on my nice $235 shoes." Damien said trying hard to keep his patience. The gnawing did not cease. "I said stop chewing the shoes!" Damien started to kick wildly in attempts to shake Totodile off. You managed to, however, knock his totally shoe off along with Totodile. Totodile landed with the shoe still in his mouth. He carried on with his savage nibbling.

"No, Stop!" Damien ordered as he started to wrestle the Pokémon over the shoe.

Ah, interesting Allen though. Totodiles really would munch on anything, but the mystery of his Pokémon still remained. Allen finally threw his Pokéball. The red beam fired and formed into something unexpected. It was an Eevee!

"Eevee," it charmed. Eevee sat majestically underneath Allen. Eevee was a marvelous Pokémon to start with.

"Hi Eevee," Allen introduced himself, "I'm Allen." He placed his out for Eevee to place its paw on.

"Eve!" Eevee responded as it offered its paw.

"No way! He got an Eevee!" an outrage voice yelled. Allen looked up. It was Vince; the inconsiderate boy assigned the color red. He was taller than the average boy his age with medium length, brown hair. "I didn't even get a Pokémon I liked and you get an Eevee." He added as he brushed strains of hair from his face. The Cyndaquil on the boy's shoulder shivered at the hurtful comment. "It's not fair!"

How obnoxious. "I didn't ask for Eevee." Allen retorted. "I just—"

"You think you're so special because of your Eevee, huh?"

"No, I—"

"I bet that dainty Pokémon couldn't hold itself in a battle."

"Eve!" Eevee shouted suddenly in angry reply

"Oh, did I hurt its feelings?" the Vince wondered, "I think it wants to fight. How about it?" the boy challenged Allen.

Allen was a little unsure. A battle so soon? He and Eevee have not bounded yet. Then Eevee turned around, and the two locked eyes. Allen saw the will to fight in Eevee's eyes. It must be a very proud and combative Pokémon.

Allen nodded, "I accept your challenge."

"Let's see what your rare Pokémon can do."

"What? A battle?" Damien plopped on the scene with Totodile in hand still chomping the shoe. "I'll get my dad."

Damien's father was a licensed Pokémon referee, and the ideal person to oversee the beginners' first battle. Allen and Vince stood on against ends of a grassy battlefield. The battle was also scattered with a couple of huge boulders.

Allen had butterflies in his stomach. Eevee, on the other hand, seemed pumped for the battle. It strode back and froth staring down the still shivering Cyndaquil on the other side of the starting point that was the center circle of the battlefield. He did not want to let Eevee down. He recited Eevee's attacks in his head to come up with a good strategy.

Damien's father shouted to each trainer to check their readiness. After seeing they were both ready to rumble, he signaled the starting flag. The battle had begun.

"Cyndaquil, scratch attack it!" Vince ordered. Cyndaquil hesitated a second, then charged with its claws readied.

"Eevee, use you speed and not power and you can win this!" Allen suggested, "Use quick attack!"

Eevee suddenly vanished in a bust of intense speed. Eevee reappear just in front of the charging Cyndaquil and delivered a powerful, two-pawed attack in the face. Cyndaquil was sent rolling across the grassy field. When it finally stopped rolling, it looked like it did not want to get up again.

"Cyndaquil, get up!" Vince instructed, "No way I'm gonna let you lose in one hit!" Cyndaquil slowly climbed to its feet. "Good. Now do a smokescreen!" The flames on Cyndaquil's back started to flare as a cloud of smoke formed. The smoke slowly floated over to Eevee. It was a pity: the smokescreen attack was way to slow to be effective.

"Eevee, cancel that with a sandattack!" Eevee obeyed and launched a sand attack. It kicked up a massive amount of sand with its front legs. The sand fell the air and clear a path in the smoke leading straight to Cyndaquil. Eevee lowered its head and charged forward in a tackle attack. Cyndaquil was hit head on in the stomach. Eevee quickly followed-up with a wicked tailwhip across the face. Cyndaquil found itself flung in the air and collided into one of the giant boulders in the battlefield. It lay slumped against the rock. Eevee swiftly pounced on the downed opponent. It ferociously stumped the Cyndaquil.

The crowd watching the battle gasped; Eevee was a vicious, merciless, ass-kicking machine.

"Ah, took it easy Eevee!" Allen instructed. It was oblivious that the Cyndaquil was no match for Eevee.

"Cyndaquil! Fight back! Use ember!" Vince commanded. Cyndaquil had enough strength to launch some embers from his back. A flew sparks managed to char Eevee left, front leg, but it jumped back just in time to avoid the bulk of the fiery attack. "Good! There still some fight left in you!"

"Another sand attack, Eevee!" Eevee kicked up some more sand, and this time it was a direct hit. Cyndaquil was mostly buried in a mass of sand. The sand nullified the ember attack. Now the coup de grace. Eevee launched a finally tackle attack that flung Cyndaquil back into the same boulder. That was the limit; Cyndaquil instantly fainted.

Damien's father lowered the victory flag to call the battle. The battle was over.

"Yea!" Allen shouted, "We won!"

Eevee was still bloodthirsty. It rushed the collapsed Cyndaquil and started to stomp it.

"The battle is over! Stop!" Eevee would not listen and went on pounding. "Eevee, return!" The red beam of the Pokémon zipped the rampaging Pokémon back in its ball.

"Aw, I knew you were useless." Vince said as he returned his Pokémon from the field.

Damien rushed to his friend's side. "That was amazing. Eevee was incredible."

"It seemed a little too violent to me…" Allen replied

"Isn't that good for a battling Pokémon?" Damien asked

"I guess…"

"At least it doesn't eat your clothing." Damien said as he pointed to his baggy, pants legs. One was severed up to his knee; the other one had Totodile teething on it.


	2. Who Gives a Hoot!

Allen rechecked his backpack to make sure he packed everything he needed for his journey. He scanned his room once more for any miscellaneous items of used. There was the picture of him, his parents and his older brother, Jake, on his dresser. It has been a long time since his family took a picture together. His brother left home to train Pokémon three years ago and his parents left frequently to do top-secret Marvel Phalanx stuff. Allen was used to taking care of himself. This journey would not completely be a new experience to him.

After some time of thinking, Allen snatched the family picture and stuffed it in his backpack. It was his family after all. He needed something to remind him of them.

"Let's get out of here," Allen told Eevee who lay relaxed on Allen's bed. Eevee smoothly leaped from the bed and followed Allen out the room. It was hard to believe the graceful, docile Eevee was so fierce during battle. Allen knew he had to understand its complex personality before becoming a formidable team.

Once outside, Allen reached in his pocket to get his keys to lock the door. He paused. This was going to be the last time he locked the door to his house for probably a long time. The rush of leaving Kupo was finally coming full blown.

"Yo!" Allen heard Damien's voice call from behind, "See ya ready to head out."

Allen finally locked his front door. "Yeah, I was just about to lea—" He stopped in mid-sentence when he noticed all the luggage Damien was lugging. Damien had a large hiking backpack that looked stuffed to the max. He also carried a bulky shoulder bag and was wearing a fanny pack with many, deep pockets. "Sure you've packed everything you need?" Allen joked.

"I have to bring all the necessities," Damien explained, "My stereo system, my twenty inch T.V., my Gamesystem 3—"

"Totod!" Totodile interrupted as it suddenly released itself from its ball. It promptly locked his jaws on Damien's shoulder bag and started chomping.

"No! Stop!" Damien scolded. "You'll damage the goods!"

"What's wrong, Damien. Can't control your Pokémon?" Vince teased as he strolled passed. He was joined by the girl who chose the Chikorita, Tammy. She had long, black hair and a tanned complexion. Tammy snickered at the fallen Damien struggling to manage his Totodile.

"Let's get out of here, Tammy," Vince told her as they continued walking. Allen eyed the two as they walked away. Were they planning on traveling together?

Who Gives a Hoot!

Damien finally managed to rip Totodile from his bag. He held the squirming Pokémon under his arm. "Do you think Vince and Tammy have a thing for each other?" Damien questioned, letting Vince's rude remark slide.

"I don't know." Allen said.

"Well anyway, we should get going." Damien made a few steps forward with Totodile still squirming under his arm before realizing Allen was not following. "What's wrong?"

"What do you mean _we_?" Allen queried. He did not remember arranging to travel together.

"Yeah, we're going together, right?"

"When did I say that? Besides, you're going to become a coordinator ain't ya?" It was true. Damien's dream was to be a Pokémon coordinator to Allen's Pokémon trainer.

"Pokémon gyms and contests are often in the same town." Damien explained. He cocked his head to the side, "Besides, remember the promise."

"What promise?" Allen asked in shock. He did not have a clue what Damien was talking about.

"Three years ago," Damien hinted. When Allen failed to said anything else, Damien continued, "The promise we made with Nami, remember."

"Nami?" Allen said slowly, "She moved years ago. In fact, she moved just after Jake left."

"Right! And before she left we promised to all start our Pokémon adventure together." Damien suddenly became sadden. "Then she moved all of sudden. But the two of us are still together!"

Now Allen remembered. Nami was their friend three years ago. They promised to travel with their Pokémon together but she moved away. He could barely remember how she looked like though. Whatever. He and Damien were good friends. It would be fun to travel together.

"It would be cool to go together." Allen finally agreed. "C'mon, Eevee. It's already getting late. Let's go."

"Cool!" Damien exclaim, "In honor of Nami!"

The friends left the sleepy town of Kupo and ventured out into the nearby Kupo forest, the forest that the town was named after. The forest was still that day. They have been walking for four hours and had not spotted a wild Pokémon. The sun was just starting to set.

Allen admired Damien's energy. Damien marched along the path with much vigor despite all the junk he was carrying. Totodile mirrored his trainer as he blissfully skipped behind the marching Damien. Allen, on the other hand, was exhausted. He could not see how Damien and Totodile could be so energetic. It was probably something they eat.

Allen glanced behind to check up on his Eevee. It followed him quietly with a bored expression on its face. It looked like it wanted some action. Allen was getting bored himself. They ran out of things to talk about. Maybe he should challenge Damien to a battle?

Suddenly Pokémon swooped down to the ground from the trees above. The Pokémon resembled owls with one foot. They pecked the ground just in front of the group, probably looking for food under the dirt.

"Oooooow!" Damien exclaimed quietly. "It's a whole flock of Hoothoot!"

"Calm down, man," Allen responded, seeing the fire burning in Damien's eyes.

"I have to catch one!" Damien suddenly blurred out. The shouting drew the group of Hoothoot's attention. They all stared at the trainers. "Totodile, watergun 'em!"

At his command Totodile dashed to the flock and let out a powerful jet of water. The water managed to hit several of the Hoothoot scattering them in the air.

"Scratch attack that one," Damien pointed out one unlucky Hoothoot that was flung in the air. Totodile obeyed and extended its claws and aimed for the falling Hoothoot. The targeted Hoothoot was sent flying into a tree by the scratch attack.

Allen was impressed. Damien knew Totodile's attacks pretty well. You would not think Damien had control over Totodile from witnessing earlier exploits.

"Too easy!" Damien yelled. He reached in one of his fanny pack many pockets. "Go, Pokéball!" He shouted as he tossed a Pokéball at the fallen Hoothoot.

Unexpectedly, Eevee launched a tackle attack on the Hoothoot, knocking the owl Pokémon out of the path of the Pokéball.

"What duh?" Damien shouted as the Pokéball missed and bounced back to his hand.

"Eevee!" Allen called out, "Stand down! This is not our battle!" Eevee did not listen. It continued tackling the Hoothoot. Soon the poor Hoothoot fainted, but that did not stop Eevee's plundering.

"Allen, what is your Eevee doing?" Damien demanded to know. "I was _sooooo_ close!"

"Sorry," Allen apologized, "I guess it just can't resist a fight."

The maltreatment of their friend enraged some of the other Hoothoot. They flew at the overaggressive Eevee using peck attack. Eevee managed to knock some back with a tailwhip attack, but the others that remained pecked away at Eevee's body. Even Eevee's out of control rage could not handle so many opponents; it was being overwhelmed.

"Oh, Crap!" Allen feared Eevee may suffer serious injuries.

"Totodile, help it out with another scratch attack!" Totodile dashed to Eevee's aid. It slashed at the swarm of Hoothoot with no avail; there were simply too many of them. Things got worst as a couple of Hoothoot started to attack the trainers themselves.

"Aw, my head!" Damien whimpered in pain as he swapped at a Hoothoot pecking at his head.

"We have to run away!" Allen shouted. It was the last resort, but they had no other options. "Eevee, return!" Eevee managed to dodge the Pokéball's tractor beam. Despite the overwhelming odds, it still had the will to fight. "Eevee! You can't win! Return!" Eevee dodged the beam again. It wanted to fight until it faints—or dies.

"Allen, your Eevee is psycho!" Damien yelled. The massive pecking was dealing sever damage to Totodile. "We need to get out of here," he added as he returned Totodile to its ball.

Soon, it was pointless trying to recall Eevee because of the mass of Hoothoot blocking the beam. "I can't leave Eevee!" Allen shouted back. Damien really felt like running away, but he just could not abandon his friend let that. Totodile took a lot of damage and was too weak to fight anymore. He was not sure on what to do.

Allen suddenly rushed forward into the bulk of Hoothoot to help Eevee. If Eevee did not want to give up, Allen was going to force it to retreat. He swapped at the owl Pokémon trying to reach Eevee to carry it away to safety, but it was no use. Humans were not made to endure such lethal attacks like Pokémon were. Allen's hands and arms became bloody from the constant pecking yet he continued trying to help his stubborn Eevee.

"Allen! Get out of there!" Damien shouted.

"Hyperbeam, hurry!" a female voiced shouted. Allen's world went white as a powerful beam of energy shot right in front of him hitting several Hoothoot causing them to instantly faint. Several more hyperbeams fired and nailed the remaining Hoothoot. When the firing ceased, the forest grown dark again. All the Hoothoot lay fainted on the ground.

Allen, not caring to know who saved them, rushed to Eevee who was wounded and breathing heavily surrounded by a pile of Hoothoot.

"Who did that?" Damien called out. There was no replied. "Show yourself. I heard your voice; I know you're out there!" There was more silence, and Damien grew angry. "I just want to thank you! Stop hiding!"

In response a girl timidly emerged from behind some bushes. Allen looked up from rechecking Eevee to see the girl. She had silky, light brown hair that come just short of her shoulders and beautiful, bright, blue eyes.

Damien was shock beyond belief. "No way!" He exclaimed excitedly.

"No way _what_?" Allen asked still worried about Eevee. It was too weak to even stand, yet it tried to mask its pain with a stern expression. Allen was starting to think it enjoyed pain.

"Nami! What are you doing here?" Damien lunged at the girl and gave her a huge hug, both to her and Allen's surprise.


	3. Evil Eevee?

"Your brother is so lucky," mused Damien.

"Yeah, he gets his very own Pokémon tomorrow," added Nami

"I'm gonna miss him…" said Allen, slowly.

Allen, Damien and Nami lay on a grassy hill. The three were stargazing, taking full advantage of the clear, night sky. Tomorrow, Jake, Allen's older brother, was going to receive his starter Pokémon and begin his Pokémon adventure. There was a moment of silence as a soft breeze blew.

Damien slowly sat up. "Don't feel bad," he said, trying to make Allen feel better. "In just three more years, we will all be old enough to get our starter Pokémon. Maybe we'll meet up with him."

"He would be three years ahead of us," said Allen, "There's more way we could catch up with him."

"I don't know," wondered Damien as he stood up, "Some trainers take breaks that last for years."

"Let's make a promise," said Nami suddenly. She sat up and hugged her legs.

"What type of promise?" asked Damien.

"Let's promise to go on our Pokémon journey together," proposed Nami

"Yeah, that would be great," Damien seconded the notion. "What do you think, Allen?"

Allen lay silently for a few seconds. "I just hope my starter Pokémon won't turn out to be evil or something." The out of the blue statement left looks of confusion on his friends' faces.

Evil Eevee?

"Nami! I can't believe it's really you!" exclaimed Damien as he embraced their savior. "I thought those Hoothoot were gonna do us in for sure."

"How do you know my name?" the girl asked, taken slightly aback by Damien invasion of personal space. "I'm sorry, have we met before?"

Nami's obliviousness devastated Damien. He backed away from her in disbelief. "You don't remember me?" he gasped.

"N-no, I'm sorry."

The expression on Damien's face was something of heartbreak. He quickly shot a glance toward Allen who was still kneeled next to Eevee. "Allen! She doesn't recognize me!" he wined.

"Allen!" Nami shouted in remembrance. She dashed past Damien to get a closer look at her old friend. "I didn't realize it was you at first." She soon became aware of Eevee's critical condition and Allen's bleeding hands. "Oh my gosh! We're hurt!"

Before Allen could say a word Nami hastily reached for a Pokéball in her pocket. "Go! Miltank!"

A Miltank zapped from her ball and stood poised for commands right in front of Allen and Eevee. "Use Heal Bell on them, Miltank!" Miltank obeyed and two, sliver bells of light materialized above Allen and Eevee. Suddenly, the bells started to jingle, releasing balls of lights. The balls swirled away them, giving soothing relief from their pain.

Nami quickly followed up by revealing two bottles of Miltank milk from her backpack. "Drink this," she instructed as she passed a bottle to Allen, "It will help you heal faster."

Allen did what he was told. The milk was very refreshing and tasted great. "Thanks!" he said as the Heal Bell finally stopped.

"And here's some for you." Nami placed the other bottle next to Eevee for it can drink some.

"Wow, a Miltank!" said Damien in surprise. "I bet it comes in handle."

"Yup," Nami nodded, "Miltank keeps my Pokémon at tip top shape."

"And it knows hyperbeam; that's amazing—"

The conversation was interrupted by the abrupt sound of glass shattering. Eevee had kicked his bottle of Miltank milk into the air and it shattered all over the ground. Nami gasped, Damien shook his head, and Miltank looked furious. Allen simply sat motionless; he did not understand why Eevee was being so rude.

"Miltank!" Miltank roared in anger. It hated to see some ungrateful Pokémon ruin good milk for no reason.

"Miltank! It's okay!" Nami tried to calm her Pokémon down, but Miltank looked like it was going to pounce on Eevee at any moment. Nami decided to return Miltank before a fight started. At Eevee's weaken state, Miltank could easily cause sever damage.

"I'm so sorry," Allen apologized, "Eevee is—"

"It's okay," Nami cut him off, "Let's not cry over spilled milk." She laughed. "I'm just happy to see you again; it has been such a long time!"

Allen felt bad. He had almost forgotten about Nami, and she seemed so glad to see him again. She was warm, kind, forgiving…and really cute. How could he forget her?

"It's getting late," said Nami. She offered a hand to help Allen up. "I set up my tent not too far from here near a stream. You should come camp the night there with me."

"What about me?" shouted Damien in outraged.

"Oh, almost forgot about you," Nami said, slightly embarrassed.

"You did forget about him," Damien replied, sadly.

"Of course, you can come too," she corrected herself, "let's go."

Nami led the boys to her camp cite near the stream. Eevee staggered behind the group, refusing to return to its ball or being carried. Damien stated that Allen should force Eevee to go back in its Pokéball, but Allen did not want to make Eevee do anything it did not want to even if it was in great pain. He could not figure out why Eevee would want to put itself through so much pain. It did not even drink the Miltank milk that would have numbed the agony. Allen hoped Eevee was just going through some kind of phase. Eventually, however, Eevee fainted and Allen returned it to its ball.

Nami's camp cite was in a prime location. The stream provided fresh clean water for the gang to drink and the ground was soft with thick, lush grass. Damien busted out his tent from his giant backpack and began to set it up next to Nami's which surprised Allen: he did not bring a tent along. He was even more shocked when Nami offered to like him sleep in hers.

"But where will you sleep?" he questioned her. He was planning on asking to sleep in Damien's tent, but he was currently with his totodile at the stream.

"In the tent too, of course," she stated as if it was a matter of fact thing. "Just give me some time to change first, okay." She went inside the tent quickly to change into her nightgown. Allen waited patiently outside. Cool, Nami wanted him to still in her tent…what does that mean?

Then, he started to think about his Eevee. Was it okay? Maybe Damien was right. He should force Eevee to do things. He should ask Nami for more Miltank milk and make Eevee drink; it was for its own health.

Allen released Eevee. It zapped out in the familiar red beam. It stood ready for action as if not critically damaged.

"Now, Eevee—" Something swooped on top of Nami's tent. It was a giant moth with circle patterns on his wings.

"It's a Dustox," Allen whispered under his breath.

Eevee sprung into battle mode. It leaped for the stranger Pokémon.

"Eevee! No!" It was too late. The Dustox easily dodged Eevee's tackle by flying straight up. Eevee's sudden weight on top of the tent caused it to cave inward. Nami screamed in surprise.

Eevee did not care about the damage it caused; it continued to pursuit the Dustox. Dustox, in attempts to escape the crazed Eevee, flew away toward Damien's tent. Eevee chased after it on foot, tearing through Damien's tent which was in its way.

Nami finally managed to wriggle from under her fallen tent. She was in the middle of changing so she used her sleeping bag to cover herself. She wormed over to Allen. "What happened?" she asked, calmly. She spoke as if not embarrassed by her silly appearance.

"Eevee happened," Allen answered as he lowered his head in shame.

"What is going on?" Damien demanded to know as he rushed on the scene. He heard Nami screamed and came as fast as he could.

"Eevee went crazy again," Allen informed

"Your Eevee is evil, pure evil!" Damien claimed when he noticed it chasing the Dustox and the destroyed tents.

"Evil? There is not such thing as an evil Pokémon." Nami defended Eevee. Damien blinked at her. She looked like a caterpillar worming around in that sleeping bag.

"It has to," Damien continued, "It wants to do nothing but harm other Pokémon!" To highlight, Damien pointed to Eevee as it attempted to knock Dustox out of the air in the distance. "I used to think its aggression would make it a good battler, but I was wrong! It doesn't even listen to Allen! And look what it did to our tents!"

"Well, guess we have to ruff it than," said Nami. "Tents are just for luxury. We don't need them."

Damien acted as if Nami was expecting the impossible. "Speak for yourself, girlfriend. I don't won't bugs and stuff crawling all over me."

Damien and Nami continued exchanging opinions; Damien complaining while Nami contained her positive personality. Allen was not listening. He was too depressed thinking about Eevee. What was wrong with it? Was it just…evil?


	4. Damien: Two, Allen: Treecko!

"Good morning!" Nami mused when she noticed Allen awoke.

Allen stretched and let out a yawn. "Morning? Already?" he moaned. He did not get any sleep last night. All he could think about was Eevee's aggression problem.

Nami was already fully dressed, wearing a pink shirt and a blue jean skirt. Her hair was neatly tied in cute pigtails by two pink ribbons. She was cooking some toast and eggs over a bonfire. The meal smelled delicious. Allen hoped they were almost done.

Damien slept in his Poke-tent: a small tent he planned on letting his Pokémon sleep in but decided to sleep in it himself. The pint sized tent suddenly wormed violently as Damien forced himself out of the small opening.

Sporting cute, puppy dog pajamas, Damien sleepily approached Nami near the bonfire, attracted by the smell of scramble eggs. "Mm, that smells heavenly," he said, "Did you cook some for us?"

"Of course," Nami smiled, "I cooked enough for all of us."

Allen slipped out of his sleeping bag and joined his friends at the fire. "Thanks, Nami. We only packed apples and berries and stuff; no hot meals."

"Yea, thanks," Damien agreed. He suddenly became crossed. "I wish I packed an extra tent; that dinky thing isn't comfortable. If only Eevee wasn't so destructive…It mowed right through my good tent."

Allen was about to say something in Eevee's defense, but Nami spoke first. "Why do you refer to Pokémon as 'it'? They have genders ya know."

"I know but—" Damien trailed off, "…How do you tell?"

"Well, you could _examine_ your Pokémon to know," Nami said slowly, a little embarrassed by her own words. Allen and Damien shared an uneasy glance at each other. "Or," Nami added quickly, pulling out a pokedex from her pocket, "you could just analyze them with a pokedex; it tells you all about your Pokémon's attributes."

Without warning, Nami pointed her pokedex at Damien's poke-tent. It picked up Totodile's ball and started analyzing with a series of beeps. "Totodile is a boy," she announced after reading the pokedex data.

"I figured," Damien commented.

"And Eevee is also a dude," She said after scanning Allen's backpack.

"Really?" Damien wondered, "I always picked up a feminine vibe from him."

Damien: Two

Allen: Treecko!

"So where are you two heading?" Nami asked the boys as they ate around the dying fire.

"We are going to Hamtero Town," Damien answered with a full mouth of scrambled eggs. He swallowed then added, "Allen here is trying to collect eight badges to enter this year's Pokémon league."

"Yup," agreed Allen, "And the badge from Hamtero will be my first"

"Wow, so you're collecting badges," said Nami. "Traveling the world, meeting interesting people," Nami became awed by her own words, "Sounds exciting!"

"Well, we just started our journey yesterday," explained Damien, "The only exciting thing that happened so far was you saving us from those crazed Hoothoot." He crossed his arms and made a disgusted face. "Stupid Hoothoot; I didn't really want one anyway."

"You guys should be more careful," said Nami with a serious tone. "You shouldn't take on a whole flock of Pokémon when you only have two Pokémon between you guys."

"Ha," Damien scoffed, "You're right, but it was all Eevee's fault."

"He has fighting spirit," Allen defended his Pokémon, "Eevee would win easily in the gym battle coming up."

"But you know what?" Damien asked.

"What?" Allen and Nami said in union, leaning forward toward Damien in anticipation.

"It takes more than one strong Pokémon to win against Hamtero's gym leader, Mannie. He only battles in three on three set battles. You only have Eevee; ya down two Pokémon."

"What? I need two more Pokémon before we reach Hamtero?" Allen asked in disbelief. "Hamtero is just beyond the forest."

"Yup, and you only had one real battle so far," Damien went on, "I doubt you have the experience to battle a gym leader anyway, but it's okay; Hamtero gym is an expert's gym. We could just skip that gym, and you could challenge the next one at Tifa." Damien closed his eyes and shook his index finger at Allen, mimicking a disapproving teacher. "You need more training."

"How do you know all this?" Allen queried, a bit insulted.

Damien quickly reached into his nearby backpack and revealed a Hamtero gym pamphlet. "I found this at a bench in the park one night."

"Ooh, let me see," Nami said excitedly. Damien handed her the pamphlet, and she started to read about the gym's highlights.

"Why didn't you tell me about this stuff sooner, Damien?" Allen demanded to know.

"Sorry," Damien apologized, "I just remembered now. Besides, there are many other gyms to gain badges from; you don't need Hamtero."

"No way!" Allen said as he jumped to his feet. His outburst took Nami's attention away from the pamphlet, and Damien raised an eyebrow. "Jake got his first badge from Hamtero and so am I!"

"But he was like a Pokémon genius." Damien said as he calmly stood to Allen's level. "Don't go under the illusion that you're at his level."

"I'm just as good as him, and I will prove it," Allen yelled. He hated being compared to his brother. Allen had lived in Jake's shadow for all his life. One of the reasons he wanted to be a trainer was to show that he was just as good. On top of that, all this antagonism was coming from his friend. Damn, why was Damien being such a jerk all of a sudden?

"You're gonna to prove it?" Damien said blankly.

"Who's Jake?" Nami asked out of the blue, but her question fell upon deaf ears.

"I challenge you!" Allen said as he pointed at Damien, "In a battle!"

"Sure, you're on!" Damien accepted, clutching his fists.

"Ooh, you guys are going to have a battle!" Nami said in delight. "Let's see what you guys can do!"

Allen and Damien strode over to the river bay, the place where they decided to have the battle. The deposit from the river made the ground moist, soft and muddy, perfect for sand-attacks and water Pokémon. They gave themselves about thirty feet of space between each other. Nami stood off to the side to better view the battle.

"Ready?" Damien taunted

"Always," Allen replied. "Eevee, let's go!" Eevee zapped from his ball. He stood combatively, ready to rumble. The night's rest seemed to have reenergized him back to good health, but Allen was too angry at Damien to notice Eevee's swift recovery.

"Totodile, go," Damien's Pokémon appeared on the scene. Totodile did a little jig, as usually, before suddenly stopping and entering a fighting stance.

"Wahoo!" Nami cheered for no one in practical "Who's gonna win?"

Suddenly, a rush hit Allen. This was only his second battle…but it was Damien's first. Allen tried to claim himself down. There was no way Damien could beat him: Allen was a super pokemanic. Plus, Damien's ambition is to become a coordinator, not a trainer.

However, the rush of battle returned when Allen stared Damien in the face; his expression was that of boundless confidence.

"Totodile, let's start things off with a scratch attack!" Damien instructed. Totodile gleefully charged Eevee.

"Eevee! Counter with—" Allen started, but Eevee dashed toward the approaching Totodile without waiting for instructions.

Right before the two Pokémon collided, Eevee quickly veered to the left, causing Totodile's scratch attack to completely miss the mark. Taking full advantage of Totodile's opening, Eevee launched a powerful tackle attack in the stomach. The blow sent Totodile flying back to Damien's side of the field.

"Quick! Run your tail aground, Totodile!" Damien yelled.

Totodile obeyed. His tail was just the right length to reach the muddy ground beneath him, and it stifled his flight, bringing him safely on his two feet. After a brief victory dance Totodile turned to Damien and gave him the peace sign.

"Nice, Totodile!" Damien encouraged his Pokémon as he returned the peace sign.

"Awesome!" Nami cheered, "Wick recovery, Totodile!"

Eevee stood motionless exactly where he just launched Totodile in the air, a look of disgust on his face.

Allen had to admit to himself: what Damien had Totodile do was impressive…but it would take more than that to beat Eevee.

"Eevee, you're a lot faster than Totodile. Get him with a quick attack." Eevee shoot Allen a look that said 'I know what I'm doing', and then blazed his way to Totodile in a quick attack.

"Watergun, Totodile," Damien ordered. Totodile blasted a torrent of water, but Eevee nimbly dodged by rolling under the attack. Totodile tried another watergun attack, but Eevee easily side stepped it. Now close enough, Eevee made contact with the quick attack and pounded into Totodile's chest with his two forepaws. This caused the big jaw Pokémon to topple over on his back.

"Use your tail!" Damien shouted. Totodile's tail became useful once again. From his downed position, Totodile used his tail to launch a surprise attack, sweeping Eevee off his feet. Totodile quickly jumped to his feet as soon as Eevee hit the ground.

"Scratch him!" Damien told Totodile.

Totodile prepared his claws to attack, but Eevee was too quick yet again. Eevee swiftly interrupted the scratch attack with a powerful kick from his hind legs. The kick spent Totodile soaring straight up, and then came crashing down.

"Great Eevee!" Allen congratulated.

Totodile slowly crawled to his feet. He swayed back and forth for a moment in a daze before snapping back into a fighting stance with a more serious expression on his face this time.

Eevee waited just long enough for Totodile to get back up before charging with another quick attack, closing the distance between the two Pokémon.

"Okay, Totodile!" Damien yelled, "Time to unleash own secret weapon. Eevee may be faster, but not for long! Use scary face!"

Totodile, on command, pulled his mouth open as wide as possible with his hands and stick out his tongue, then crossed his eyes. The sight was utterly bizarre. Allen and Nami gaped in awe, and Eevee stopped in his tracks.

"Quick, Totodile!" Damien ordered, "Bite him before he snaps out of it!"

Totodile stopped the funny face and launched mouth opened wide at Eevee. Eevee still remained motionless.

"Eevee watch out!" Allen tried to warn, but Eevee did not move.

It seemed like Totodile's attack was actually going to hit this time, but something unexpected happened. A large circular object jetted from the sand just in front of Totodile. Totodile tripped over the strange object and fall square on his face. It was at this time that Eevee snapped back to his senses from the scary face affect.

"What is that?" Damien wondered. The circular object rotated in Damien's direction, and two eyes became visible.

"Trap," the sphere blurted, revealing it had a rather large mouth.

"I think it's a Trapinch," said Nami as she reached in her pocket to and pulled out her pokedex.

"Trapinch," the pokedex's robotic voice stated, "The ant pit Pokémon. It lives in sandy deserts. Despite having a big head, it has no problem when moving thanks to its strong legs; however, if it falls on its back, it has difficulties getting back up."

"Wow, in the deserts, huh? That means finding one here is really rare," Nami concluded.

"Trapinch—inch!" the Trapinch roared as it fully emerged from the muddy ground. It looked agitated.

Totodile, who was closest to the wild Pokémon, balled up his fist, ready to fight.

"Damien!" Allen shouted, "Call Totodile back; I call dibs on that Pokémon." Allen turned to face Eevee. "Let's go Ee—"

Allen was shocked to see Eevee coiled up relaxed, taking a quick snooze.

"Wake up, Eevee!" Allen demanded, "We gotta catch that Pokémon!"

Eevee lifted his head to see what all the yelling was about. When he noticed it was just Allen, he laid his head back down to catch some more Z's.

"Ha! Ya snooze, ya lose!" Damien teased. "Totodile, try biting it!"

Totodile opened wide and clumped on to the poor Trapinch's giant head. Trapinch tried to worm free, but Totodile's jaws hold firm. In a desperate attempt to escape, Trapinch used its powerful legs to dig a hole in the muddy sand beneath it. The hole quickly grew, and Trapinch submerged underground. Unfortunately for Trapinch, Totodile did not lose his grip and was dragged in the hole also, out of the trainers' view.

The three trainers rushed over to the hole to see where the two Pokémon disappeared. Eevee remained sleeping a good distance from the excitement, as if nothing interesting was happening.

Damien leaned over the hole, amazed at the depth; it was already about twenty feet deep. He could barely make out Totodile's tail flailing about as he was being dragged deeper into the hole. Suddenly, the muddy tunnel collapsed inward, hiding Totodile and Trapinch under the earth.

"Let go and use watergun to flush it out, Totodile!" Damien yelled down at the ground for Totodile to hear.

There was a brief rumble and suddenly a column of water jetted from the muddy ground, like a geyser. Soon, Trapinch appeared at the top of the geyser and was flung spiraling in the air.

"Here's my chance," Damien said as he revealed a Pokéball from his fanny pack. "Go, Pokéball!" He yelled, tossing the ball.

The ball slammed into Trapinch's big head; the laser zapped and Trapinch vanished inside. The water stopped gushing, and Totodile leaped to the surface from the opening in the ground as the Pokéball dropped to the ground.

"C'mon," Damien hoped, eyeing the wriggling ball. It stopped moving and the red glow on the release button faded away.

"Alright! We caught a Trapinch!" Damien celebrated. Trapinch's Pokéball flew to his hand. Totodile raced to his trainer's side, and they hold hands in a victory dance.

"Congratulations!" Nami cheered.

"Dude!" Allen said to Damien, "I called dibs on that Pokémon!"

"C'mon, it wasn't like Eevee was listening to you," Damien retorted. He pointed to the sleeping Eevee in the distance, and then continued his dance with Totodile.

"Why doesn't your Eevee listen to you?" Nami questioned.

Allen felt suddenly embarrassed. It was true: Eevee did not listen to him at all. He could not think of an explanation for Nami.

"Oh, I know," Nami said, preparing to answer her own question. "Maybe Eevee only fights opponents he thinks worthy. That's why he didn't attack Trapinch when you told him."

Allen thought her theory was valid…but why would Eevee consider Totodile worthy of battling and Trapinch not worth a second glance.

"Whatever," Allen said as he returned the sleeping Eevee to his Pokéball. "We should get moving."

"Yeah, if we want to make it to Hamtero before sundown, we should pick up the speed a little," Nami agreed.

Allen and Nami walked back to the campsite to pack up. Damien and Totodile went on celebrating for a few more minutes before joining the others repacking.

The journey went on just as it had started: Damien and Totodile marched vigorously, taking the lead; Allen trailed behind, a little exhausted from all the walking. The new, refreshing addition to the journey was Nami. She constantly moved between Damien and Allen, talking to them separately. Allen really enjoyed her company. She broke the silence and made the time fly by faster.

"So, this is your first time leaving Kupo, huh?" Nami asked Allen, slowing down to his pace.

"Yeah," Allen answered her, "but I didn't know traveling took so much energy; I'm beat."

"Well, I guess we can take a quick break," Nami suggested.

Allen shook his head. "I can't take a break. I need to find at lest two more Pokémon before reaching—"

"Whoa! Another Pokémon!" Allen and Nami heard Damien shout farther down the trail.

"I got to beat him this time!" Allen said as he and Nami ran to catch up with Damien.

They found Damien sitting on the dirt trail hugging and stroking a small, cute Pokémon. The Pokémon had luxurious reddish-brown fur and six beautiful, curled tails. It seemed to enjoy Damien's attention. Totodile was standing nearby, also admiring the new Pokémon's beauty.

"Kawaii-ne?" Damien mused when he noticed his friends standing over him.

"Ne!" Nami agreed. "Vulpix is a beautifully Pokémon."

Allen raised an eyebrow. "It doesn't mind you embracing it like that?"

"Well, I just spotted it near the bushes and had to cuddle it," Damien explained. He snuggled the Vulpix several more times. "Oh, you're so soft, fuzzy and warm—I gotta catch you!" Damien suddenly jumped up to his feet, and Vulpix roughly hit the ground. "Totodile, attack it!"

Totodile jumped in front of Vulpix, prepared to brawl. Vulpix quivered, confused about the sudden aggression; what happened to the love?

"Vul," it whimpered as it sudden fainted. Everyone gasped, including Totodile.

"Oh no, It fainted," Damien said sadly.

"Now you can't catch it," Allen stated the obvious.

"Why can't Pokéballs catch faint Pokémon?" companied Damien.

Vulpix slowly half opened one eye, revealing itself not to be unconscious.

"Hey! You're faking!" Damien exclaimed when he noticed the opened eye. Vulpix tried to play it off by playing dead again, but its cover was blown. "Beautifully and smart. Totodile watergun attack!"

Totodile used the attack and Vulpix was blasted against a tree.

"Pokéball, go!" Damien chucked a Pokéball at the Vulpix, who was now slump against the tree. The ball zapped its beam, and Vulpix submitted with no struggle, unlike Trapinch.

"Yeah! We caught Vulpix!" Damien and Totodile performed an encore of their victory dance.

"You're on fire, Damien." Nami commented, "Two Pokémon caught in only three hours." She shot a glance at Allen and immediately felt sorry for him. "Don't worry about it Allen. You'll catch some soon."

"It's okay," Allen said, "I know there are stronger Pokémon out here somewhere."

At hearing this, Damien stopped his dance. "Are you saying that Trapinch and Vulpix are weak?"

"Well, you did catch them easily," Allen said.

"I'll show you that they're not weak. How about a three on three match?" Damien challenged. "Oh yeah, you only have one Pokémon," he jeered.

"Hey man," Allen started but claimed himself down. "I will get enough Pokémon before reaching Hamtero—just like Jake did. Let's get going." Allen started walking, leaving the other two trainers behind.

The trainers continued their journey through Kupo forest. This time Allen was leading the group. He walked with much fire burning in his eyes. He had to find more Pokémon to catch in order to beat Mannie at Hamtero gym. Damien, Nami and Totodile silently followed the determined Allen.

"I think you made him a little bit angry," Nami whispered to Damien.

"I'll was just telling it like it was," Damien said, "He needs more Pokémon to battle Mannie; there is no way around it."

Nami placed her hand on her chin, deep in thought. "It's wired; I thought Kupo Forest would have a bunch of Pokémon running around."

"Maybe must of the Pokémon here come out at night," Damien guessed. "But if Allen really wants to battle Mannie, he could borrow some of my Pokémon—"

"I won't need them!" Allen snapped after overhearing the conversation. "There is a good Pokémon around here somewhere I can fe—"

"Hey! An orange tree!" Damien suddenly interjected. Indeed there was an orange tree oddly placed in the middle of the path ahead. "I love oranges!" Damien, followed by Totodile, ran ahead and looked up at the juicy oranges above.

"They do look good," commented Nami.

"I guess I could go for a quick snack," said Allen.

"I'll get some," said Damien. He dropped his heavy backpack, jumped up to grab a low branch and pulled himself up. Once among the branches, Damien reached out and picked a flawless, ripe orange. "This one looks good."

Out of nowhere, an orange jetted from the branches higher up and nailed Damien up side his head. The blow knocked Damien from the tree, and he slammed to the ground. Everyone gasped.

"Who did that?" Damien shouted as he sat up. He was answered by three more oranges thrown from the leaves. The oranges all pelted the defenseless Damien. Totodile protectively rushed over to his trainer's side.

"What is attacking him?" Allen wondered.

"It could be a Pokémon," suggested Nami.

More oranges launched from the tree, heading straight for the two. Totodile quickly blasted some watergun attacks and deflected the fruit projectiles.

"Good job, Totodile," Damien thanked. "Now blast what's ever in that tree!"

Totodile obeyed and blasted a jet of water in the direction of the flying fruit. The water blasted a hole in the blanket of leaves, revealing a green Pokémon. It looked like a gecko with yellow eyes and a pillowed tail. The Pokémon stood with an orange in its hand, poised to throw.

"A Treecko!" Allen shouted.

"It must live in that tree," Nami pointed out, "That's why it attacked Damien."

"I gonna catch it!" The flame returned to Allen's eyes. "Go Eevee!" Eevee zapped out and took a second to check his surroundings. "Eevee attack that Treecko!"

Eevee looked toward Treecko than toward Allen. He tilted his head, as if thinking about it, and then trailed out the path to admire some nearby wild flowers. There was an awkward silence as the trainers, Totodile and Treecko watched Eevee sniff the flowers.

The Treecko suddenly tossed the orange in its hand at Damien, hitting him in the face.

"Oh, no!" Damien exclaimed as he wiped the juice from his face, "You got citrus acid in my eye! It's go time!" Damien grabbed vulpix's Pokéball and released her. Vulpix shook herself off and scratched behind her ear, cutely.

"You're using Vulpix?" Allen asked.

"Fire beats grass type, right?" Damien rechecked.

"Yeah, but—" Allen started

"Good. Now go Vulpix!" Vulpix rushed to the base of the orange tree. She went into a playful fighting stance, still looking ridiculously cute. Treecko leaped down right in front of the cute Pokémon, and then sneered very intimately. Vulpix suddenly became fearful and started to shudder.

"Don't be scared, Vulpix," Damien tried to encourage his Pokémon. "You have a type advantage. Use an ember attack."

Treecko and Vulpix stared down each other for a few seconds with nothing happening, Vulpix shuddering the whole time. Suddenly, Vulpix bluntly fainted. Treecko beat its chest as if king of the jungle.

"Vulpix, you okay?" Damien asked in concerned.

"Oh, poor thing," Nami moped, "She snapped under the pressure."

"I knew Vulpix couldn't handle a battle," Allen commented

"At least my Pokémon listen to me," Damien retorted coolly as he pointed toward the flower gazing Eevee. "Vulpix, we'll work on that. Return!" Totodile leaped up and down excitedly. "No, let's have Trapinch get a shot at it. Go Trapinch!" Trapinch zapped free and chopped the air a few times.

"Oh, c'mon now," Allen started up again. "You didn't even know what a Trapinch was when you caught him; you know none of his attacks."

"I know Trapinch has a big bite," Damien said, smoothly. "Charge, Trapich!"

Trapinch galloped toward Treecko, planning on a bite attack. Sadly, Trapinch tripped over a root from the orange tree and toppled over on his big head, just before reaching Treecko. Try as he might, Trapinch could not get up again. It was just like what the Pokédex said: Trapinch had a tough time getting up after falling. Treecko laughed hectically.

Then the laughter ended. To everyone's surprise Eevee rammed into Treecko in the midst of its laughing fit. Treecko harshly tumbled across the dirt path. Eevee followed up with a sand attack. A cloud of sand surrounded the fallen Treecko.

"Whoa, that is what I'm talking about, Eevee!" Allen cheered on, spirits renewed.

From out of the sand cloud, Treecko leaped at Eevee, its tail poised for a pound attack. Eevee stood his ground and took the attack head on without flinching. Eevee quickly countered with a tail whip attack, but Treecko caught Eevee's tail. Treecko swung Eevee around several times by the tail at an increasing speed.

"Oh my," Nami gasped. She could tell that these two Pokémon were going to battle to the end.

"Eevee, you got to get loose," Allen suggested.

At peak speed, Treecko finally let go and tossed Eevee toward the orange tree. Eevee managed to recover in midair. He jumped off the tree and used the momentum to launch a quick attack. The attack hit Treecko in the face and it stumbled backwards. Eevee executed two tail whip attacks in the face, and then tackled Treecko in the stomach.

"Dang, Eevee is brutal," Damien said.

Eevee continued to bash Treecko with tackle and quick attacks; he was just to fast for the green Pokémon. Finally, Treecko stumbled over the forgotten Trapinch still struggling to get back on his feet.

"Here's my chance." Allen pulled out a Pokéball. "Go, Pokéball!" The ball slammed into Treecko's head and Treecko vanished inside. There was no struggle inside the Pokéball.

"Oh right," Allen celebrated, "I caught Treecko." Allen picked up Treecko's ball triumphantly.

"Yeah, Allen got a Pokémon!" Nami cheered. "I'm so happy for you!"

"Thanks, Nami," Allen thanked.

"Ya know," Damien said as you returned Trapinch to his ball, "Hamtero is just two hours from here. Think you can catch another one before then?"

"You bet I can!" Allen answered. "Can't we Eevee? Eevee?" Allen spotted Eevee coiled up, sleeping yet again.

"Maybe now you have at least one Pokémon that listens to you," Damien mocked.


End file.
